Billing
gets more complicated daily, with new legislation, new regulations and
more. The penalties for errors include loss of practice-sustaining
revenue, but also can include civil or criminal prosecution.

So
why are errors made? First, consider all the billing department must
do. They are in charge of coding correctly, submitting claims to
payers, collecting co-payments, managing accounts, and more. And they
have to keep up to date on the constantly changing rules. The
real reason for errors and problems with billing is a neglect for all
the components of the process.

Effective staff, clear procedures, and
consistent evaluation must combine for a high-performing billing
department. For success in billing, and the key to your practice’s
effectiveness as a healthcare provider and business model, the process
is key.

The Team

For successful billing, you need good tools, effective reporting methods, firm procedures, and staff with perspective.

Staff
who is charged with the intricacies of billing should make a commitment
to understanding and complying with all steps. To do this effectively,
the practice should have clear guidelines on what the billing process
is, as well as each staff member’s responsibility.

In
addition, staff must be devoted to continually updating their knowledge
on billing regulations. Physicians and administrators must implement a
formal or informal training program on a consistent basis. This
training should also include efforts to improve on results from billing
method assessment (discussed below). All staff, including the front
desk to the doctors, should be kept aware of changes in procedure, as
they are all involved at some point.

The Process

Each
practice should have written methods for sending out bills, receiving
payments, follow-up on non-responders, dealing with denials, and
other billing issues that arise frequently in your practice. This
written process should be clear on who is responsible for each
component. It should insist that employees document everything, for
compliance issues and for evaluation.

The
ongoing process must be monitored and it must be consistent. Full responsibility is created when the team
works together to improve and assess the status of the practice as a
business.

Reports,
weekly or bi-weekly, can be an effective way to track successful
payments, delinquent payers and patients, denials, and all follow-up.
These reports can also help to prioritize contacts and tasks.

Medical Careers

The US medical jobs market has stayed hot for health care providers. Whether you believe
that a provider shortage is in the offing or that the ratio of physicians-to-patients
is too high, physician
jobs and nursing jobs abound.

A wide variety of medical jobs can be found in the netdoc health care job listings. Particular strengths include permanent and locum tenens physician jobs, nursing jobs across the US, and radiology positions.